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About Me

I enjoy collecting antique quilts and making reproductions of them both big and small. I've made a few baskets and I'd like to make more. I dabble in knitting and would love to learn rug hooking, but it's hard to find time to do it all. I work in higher education and I love my job. However, I do spend a lot of time dreaming about quilts.

1857 Album Quilt - BOM

Glorious Applique

Sunday, March 20, 2011

When Barbara Burnham read that I love house quilts she was kind enough to share her masterpiece pictured above. Her quilt, titled Welcome Home, was included in Mimi Dietrich's book, Bed and Breakfast Quilts (That Patchwork Place, 2003).

"Welcome Home" detail

This quilt is the perfect combination of old and new. Barbara found the blue house blocks with the bright red chimineys in one antique shop and the coordinating nine-patch blocks in another. She brilliantly combined the blocks, adding new background fabric, four new 9-patches and the star stitched from antique fabric to create what is my favorite house quilt ever!

"Welcome Home" detail

If, like me, you've tried enlarging the photo above to see if that is hand or machine quilting, I'll save you some time. It is hand quilted - perfectly. Thank you so much, Barbara, for sharing this wonderful house quilt with us! It's time for me to get back to practicing my hand quilting.

Saturday, March 19, 2011

Yup, I did. Just a quick post to say I've been sucked into the gorgeous bright designs by Kim McLean and here is my first block for the Flower Garden quilt. I had to go with the brights as a way to put some cheer into what had become an interminable winter but now that we are tasting spring they cheer me up even more. The notebook is there because I've decided to do a better job of documenting my big projects. I thought I'd keep a record of what is going on (both personally and the world as a whole) as I worked on the applique. Block 1 has seen a lot--I started it last week and since then there was the horrible earthquake, tsunami and nuclear accident in Japan along with the developments in Libya. I hope block 2 has a happier tale to tell.

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

I might have mentioned once (or twice) how much I love house quilts and when I saw Paula's version I started planning one like it of my own. Are these pieced mansions or perhaps multi-family dwellings? Her quilt pictured above is actually a small version of a Schoolhouse quilt made in NY or Pennsylvania around 1910.

She plans to make more red and white quilts, mostly in a reduced size to make them easier to display. I like that idea. I have some excellent antique quilts but am not able to enjoy them as much as I like because they are too big to display. My blue and white house quilt is an exception and I display it regularly.

Paula (no blog) also sent me great pictures of her red and white quilts to share with everyone. I am putting them in two posts so they can both show up in the exhibit links. They deserve to be showcased - they're that good!

I almost could not believe it when Paula told me she has made TWO of the 1910 Kaleidoscope or Bullseye quilts (pictured above) as gifts. One is in North Dakota and one is in Germany. She is also making one more for herself. The applique is needle turn and quilting is machine. The original can be seen in the photo on the advertisement for the Infinite Variety Exhibit.

Thanks to everyone who has added links to their red and white quilts and also to those who have commented! I am thoroughly enjoying seeing your treasures and reading their stories. You can link to the post with the Red and White online exhibit HERE. Remember, you can keep adding quilts through March 30.

I am posting the quilt above for Laura (no blog). This quilt was designed by Susan Emory of Quilter's Corner in Midlothian Virginia and was featured on the cover of Quilt Sampler Magazine, Fall/Winter 2008. The pattern is called 'Making History' and combines two old blocks: Martha Washington star and sawtooth star. Laura first saw this quilt in Quilter's Corner the summer of 2008. It was made in blue and white (Alex Anderson's Never Enough Romance fabric). The quilt was striking, but she had no need for a blue and white quilt. The ladies in the quilt shop were very excited because this pattern was going to be featured on the cover of Quilt Sampler Magazine.

Laura usually designs her own quilts and picks her own colors, but when she saw the magazine cover, she knew the red and white quilt would be perfect for her mother-in-law. Her bedroom has red carpet and white walls. She has everything she needs and is very difficult to buy gifts for, so she decided to make this quilt for her for Christmas. This quilt is the first quilt she made using Eleanor Burn's Quilt In a Day flying geese ruler and triangle square up ruler. Paura says these rulers helped to match the points up and also made the piecing go fast. She was afraid that making a two-color quilt would be boring, but learning to use the new rulers and having a variety of red prints helped keep the piecing interesting. The quilt was professionally quilted by Valerie Schlake of A Needle Runs Through It in Maidens, Virginia has wool batting. Laura also made pillow cases and quilted pillow shams (with zippers in the back) to match the quilt.

Laura's mother-in-law loves the quilt. She put it on her bed the day she got it, and she went out and got new curtains to match the it. She says she tries to give handmade gifts only to those people who I think will appreciate the time and work I put into them, and I know my mother-in-law truly loved her gift.

I think this is a wonderful gift and I am so glad Laura's mother-in-law loves the quilt and the work she put into the quilt. Thanks, Laura, for letting me share this quilt for you!

Saturday, March 5, 2011

It is an understatement to say that the quilt world is abuzz about the upcoming exhibit at the American Folk Art Musem in NYC, "Infinite Variety: Three Centuries of Red and White Quilts." I've read about quilters worldwide who are making a special trip just to take in this show (now that is dedication!). Others have committed to making red and white quilts this year. Red and white quilts for sale on Ebay are fetching a premium these days.

So, I am joining the celebration by compiling an online red and white quilt show. Do you own an antique red and white quilt? Have you made a new one yourself? Do you have a friend who will let you take a picture of her quilt? If so, I hope you will blog about your quilt and add a link to that post below. If the linky thing works properly, we will be able to compile our own virtual red and white quilt show. I will start things off with the quilt above which I recently purchased through Ebay and will be adding a couple more in the coming days.

To add some fun for participants, I bought three sets of magnets from the museum (that's them above) and will have a drawing among those of you who participate. So, to recap, blog about a red and white quilt and add a link to that post (directly to the post, not your general blog address). If you do more than one post you are welcome to add more links - it will get you an extra shot at the magnets. We will wrap up our online quilt show when the NYC exhibit closes (March 30) and I will draw 3 winners from the links. I will send them to you no matter where in the world you live. If you don't have a blog, send me your photo and I will post it for you.

Now, let's take a closer look at my quilt. The red fabric is in pretty rough shape but if you've heard the saying, "the quilting makes the quilt," this quilt will bring it to life for you. I also love the quirky arcs reverse appliqued into the borders and those corners were the piece de resistance, particularly when it showed up near Valentine's Day.

Here is a closer look at one of the corners.

As I said, this quilt has some terrific quilting. The large plain squares alternate with double cross hatch quilting (above) and a clamshell pattern (below).